California Legislature Back In Action Against Gun Rights

Last week the California Legislature reconvened after the summer recess, and already a slew of anti-gun bills are coming down the pipeline.

NRA-ILA reports that the following bills (and one resolution) are currently in the works:

Assembly Joint Resolution 24, a symbolic gesture calling on the U.S. Congress not to pass any concealed-carry reciprocity legislation;Senate Bill 497, extending the current one-handgun-a-month limit to all guns;Senate Bill 464, increasing already strict storage and security requirements for licensed firearms dealers;Assembly Bill 7, including unincorporated areas in the definition of public property where open carry is prohibited; andAssembly Bill 424, removing the authority of a school district superintendent or equivalent authority to issue written permission for someone to possess a firearm inside a school zone.

Use Your Power!

All California voters should urge their legislators to oppose the pieces of legislation listed above. To email your senators and assembly members, click here.

Gun-Haters Freak Out Over Firearms History Lesson

What sane parent could object to field trip that treated kids to a hands-on lesson in Old West history, along with a short gun safety primer? As it turns out, the parents in question didn’t—but that didn’t stop the keyboard warriors from coming out in full force after a photo of a child holding a historical firearm was posted to Facebook.

Just days after Holdheide Academy, a private school in Woodstock, Ga., took a group of first- and second-graders—all of whom had signed permission slips from their parents—to see an 1894 rifle like Annie Oakley used, the school began receiving calls. And when local Channel 2 called the Academy a “preschool” while covering the controversy, angry busybodies from across the nation placed the school in their crosshairs.

While the attention has prompted the school to go on the defensive, it shouldn’t have to—the lesson is part of the Georgia-approved curriculum. And besides, isn’t part of the point of private academies the opportunity to escape the sort of zero-tolerance, politically correct nonsense that is endemic to public schools?

JPFO Touts Gun Ownership As Remedy For Anti-Semitism

With acts of anti-Semitism becoming more prevalent throughout the country, a Jewish pro-gun group is touting the importance of the Second Amendment for defense against hate groups.

“If anything should motivate you to learn about your precious American right to keep and bear arms and to use your freedom to arm yourself, the current dramatic rise in anti-Semitism is it,” Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO) recently said in a released statement. “If you don’t understand that, shame on you, and you deserve what you get.”

Citing atrocities of the past, JPFO stressed that the same thing could happen here to groups not willing to utilize their Second Amendment rights to protect themselves and their families.

“History is repeating itself,” the JPFO statement continued. “Wake up, children. Get armed, get trained, don’t become a victim. Yes, our position is more people properly armed. What is the anti-Semite’s position?”

More Judges Take Protection Into Their Own Hands

Considering the recent attack on Jefferson County Judge Joseph Bruzzese, it’s probably little surprise that a recent survey shows more judges are carrying firearms to defend themselves and their families.

“I now carry an easily accessible handgun with me at all times,” said an anonymous judge in a National Judicial College security survey, according to a report in The Washington Post. He added, “I have received firearms training and continue to practice and receive ongoing gun safety and training.”

John Muffler, a retired U.S. Marshal and current director for a private security agency, says whether a judge should carry a gun is a constant question on his seminar circuit. “There are plenty who are carrying them now because of their position, and they’re aware that there are risks associated with the decisions they make.” In an additional NJC survey from 2014, two of every 100 judges said they had been physically attacked.

Two Looters Shot During First Hours Of Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey hit Texas hard. And homeowners were in no mood for any ill wind coming from looters and intruders.

In two separate incidents after Harvey made landfall, homeowners shot invaders during robberies. The Caller-Times says officers responded to a shooting around 11 p.m. on Friday—one hour after Harvey hit—and found a man with a gunshot wound to the head after he had broken into a Corpus Christi home. The suspect was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, but subsequently died.

The second incident occurred Saturday morning. The Houston Chronicle reports that Houston police received a call around 3 a.m. about a shooting. During the investigation, they found an intruder dead at the scene, shot by the homeowner during an attempted robbery. Unfortunately, Texas police are confirming that several thefts have occurred during the first major hurricane to hit the United States in 12 years.